


Safe House

by Theyr_lying_2u



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Clint has a niece, ON HIATUS WILL BE BACK, Pietro Maximoff Lives, a new avenger?, fucked up timeline, shes Irish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-20 01:17:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12422040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theyr_lying_2u/pseuds/Theyr_lying_2u
Summary: AU where instead of Clint's secret family on a farm he has a secret niece.When Fiona gets a surprise visit from her uncle and his Avenging friends her life changes forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on this site so any comments DEFINITELY welcome please don't be shy!! Always looking for constructive criticism and suggestions for the direction of the story. This is FICTIONAL so parts might not be so realistic but if you see something that's very wrong feel free to correct me 

**1**

_The avengers were all gathered in their plane licking their wounds from the battle against ultron._  
_"Hey wanna switch out?" Tony Stark's voice broke the silence._  
_"No I'm good. If you wanna get some kip now's a good time. We're still a few hours out." Clint answered._  
_"A few hours from where."_  
_"A safe house." Clint's eyes were fixed on the skies before him._  
\-----------------------------------  
Fiona hopped down the last step of the bus onto the wet cement of the country lane. Two boys followed her off the bus, one tall with jet black hair, olive skin and deep brown eyes, the other was only slightly smaller, his skin paler and his hair a golden brown. His eyes were ocean blue that shone brightly behind his black rimmed glasses. They appeared to be arguing about something.  
"Shut up Liam!" The blue eyed boy exclaimed. He turned to Fiona. "Tell him he's wrong."  
Fiona stared at him blankly for a second.  
"Uh I wasn't listening, sorry." She replied with a shrug. The brown eyed boy, Liam, smiled a little.  
"Fine Connor, just forget about it. How was school Fi? Anything interesting happen?" He asked, starting to walk up the lane. The other two followed quickly.  
"Nah. My teachers are idiots, but that's nothing new. What about you guys?" Fiona glanced up at them as she spoke. Both boys shrugged and shook their heads.  
"Oh wait no there was that one thing at lunch." Connor thought out loud. Liam laughed a little.  
"You mean when Tadgh threw the apple at Jack and it hit Mr Dwyer? I heard he got three weeks detention for that. That puts him in detention every Friday for the rest of the year. I have to respect him a little for that." Liam chucked, the smirk returning to his face.  
"It does take dedication to break that many rules." Connor nodded. Fiona smiled and turned towards her gate as they reached the end of her driveway.  
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." She waved.  
"Wait is your mam away?" Liam turned around to speak and continued to walk backwards.  
"Yeah she'll be gone for a while."  
"Mine too. I'll come up for dinner later?" Liam phrased this like a question but everyone knew the answer. It was not uncommon for both teenagers to be left home alone.  
"I'll come too. My mam is cooking and I don't want to spend the next week in hospital." Connor called behind him as they got further away. Fiona smiled to herself. She opened the gate and began to walk up the drive, fumbling in her pocket for the key. It was only them that she noticed the small group of people standing around outside the house. They were all speaking amongst themselves. It didn't look like they had been there for long and none of them noticed as she neared. She might have been worried if she hadn't seen that very familiar face.  
"Hey Uncle Clint. You having a party and you didn't invite me?" The entire group turned to face her, their faces plastered with surprise. All except Natasha, who smirked, and Clint, whose lips turned up into a warm smile.  
"It's good to see you kid. It's been too long." He opened his arm and she leaned in to hug him tightly.  
"That's cause you never come visit anymore." She muttered in a mock upset tone.  
"I know," he murmured against her hair. "I'm sorry."  
They broke apart and Fiona turned her attention to the rest of the group. It didn't take long to figure out who they were and from the shocked look on all of their faces, they had no idea who she was or where they had been brought.  
"Natasha." She greeted, nodding in her direction.  
"Fiona," Natasha responded, giving her a nod in return. "You've grown up a lot."  
"Yeah that tends to happen." Fiona teased. Natasha rolled her eyes but could keep the smile from her face.  
"Oh you know what I mean."  
Clint cleared his throat.  
"Guys, this is Fiona. Fiona this is Steve, Tony, Bruce and Thor." They all waved or nodded at Clint's introduction. Thor was the first one to speak.  
"I saw something back there. A vision. I have answers to find and I won't find them here." He took a few steps away from the group before swinging his hammer and flying up into the air.  
"Huh, well that's cool. So who wants some dinner?" Fiona looked around the group. No one said anything for a moment.  
"Well I for one am starving." Stark said with a clap of his hands. Rogers cleared his throat.  
"We are very sorry to disturb you miss." His voice was sincere if slightly awkward.  
"Uh yeah we would have called ahead but we were too busy not knowing you existed." Stark added, considerably less sincere.  
Fiona smiled and nodded.  
"Don't worry about it. So do Superheroes like a roast?" She led the group around the side of the house to the patio door and opened it up, standing back to allow them in ahead of her. The door led into a large kitchen. The back wall was glass, showing the amazing view of the mountains at the back of the house. Along one of the other walls was a line of shiny white cupboards with a large island standing in front of them. In the centre of the room was a long elegant table, black with thin metal legs. Classy but modern all at the same time. The decor all seemed to follow the same style, minimalistic yet tasteful. There were a few pictures scattering the walls and some coats on the hangers but apart from that the place almost looked unlived in. Dropping her school bag just inside the door, Fiona stripped off her jacket and kicked her shoes off too.  
"Hey JAZZ would you turn on the oven please?" She said, though there was no one there.  
"Right away Boss." A voice came from the ceiling.  
"We have a few guests and I have a feeling they might need to stay for a bit. Are all the spare rooms ready?" Fiona spoke as she went over to the kettle and began filling it up.  
"Yes they are. May I ask how your day was Boss?" The voice came again.  
"It's been pretty good so far JAZZ. Let's hope it stays that way."  
"Very good Boss. It's good to see you again Mr Barton, sir."  
Clint chuckled slightly.  
"You too JAZZ. You're not usually so formal. Trying to impress the company?" He greeted with a small smile and a teasing tone.  
"Always trying to make a good impression, Sir. Ms Romanov, Mr Stark, Mr Rogers, Dr Banner. It is very nice to meet you all. I am JAZZ, Miss Barton's personal Artificial Intelligence system. If you need anything during your stay here please don't hesitate to ask and I will do anything I can to help. I understand there is an AI system at the Avengers Tower so I'm sure you all understand how I work." The voice was male and spoke in an Irish accent.  
"Wait you have your own AI system?" Tony asked, astonished, as Fiona started to get to work making dinner. She motioned for everyone to sit down and Clint picked up where she left off making the tea.  
"Me and my Dad built and programmed her before he passed. He was a mechanical engineer so we worked on a lot of his pet projects together or in the lab." Fiona didn't look up from what she was doing as she spoke. Clint glanced in her direction before loading the cups and pot of tea onto a tray and carrying it to the table.  
"Fi's dad was my brother. He died two years ago in a car accident along with her older brother, Alex. Fi was in the car too but she made it out due to her..." he paused momentarily, glancing back at her as of looking for permission. She nodded to him. "Due to her abilities. She can...teleport I guess you'd say. She's also exceptionally intelligent. She's got an IQ of 185 and since school isn't exactly challenging for her, she spends her time learning new skills and hobbies to keep her occupied. I've managed to keep her off of SHIELDS radar and I'd like to keep it that way."  
Tony's jaw dropped and he stared at her. "You're a genius. I mean you're an actual genius. Why are you still in school? You could have finished a degree and a masters by now with an IQ like that I mean what are you like 16?"  
"Yeah I'm 16 but my dad wanted me to have a normal childhood away from the spotlight so he asked that I go through school and stay at the same level as others my age. Said he wanted me to get as much real life experience before the powerful people noticed me, and he didn't want them to notice me before I was ready. I'm inclined to agree with him. It's also given me time to learn other things. How to fight, play music, cook, interact with people." She trailed off. "That last one took me a while. It's not easy being different and trying to hide it."  
Banner looked up, his eyes previously fixed on the table in front of him. "I'm sorry," he said in a quiet, firm tone that was as kind and soft as it was powerful and commanding. "But what you're saying here is, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Clint had a secret brother who had a secret daughter who is a certified genius with and IQ higher than mine or Tony's, who is also trained in music, combat and, well, people, and on top of all this is an enhanced that can teleport. Sixteen years old and already accustomed to hiding in plain sight. She's a superhero or an assassin waiting to happen."  
He looked around at everyone in tho room. There was silence for just a moment, then 'Fairly Local' by Twenty One Pilots started blaring over the speakers all around the house. "Shit" Fiona muttered. The door slid open and Liam and Connor strolled into the kitchen. They both nodded to everyone at the table, then headed over to the counter to help Fiona with the dinner. The music cut out.  
"Hey Fi." They greeted, Liam picking up a potato and a knife and starting to peel while Connor started chopping vegetables on the other side of Fiona. Connor leaned in slightly towards her and without moving his eyes from what he was doing he began to speak.  
"Um, Fi?" He asked quietly.  
"Yes?" She answered.  
"Are those the Avengers sitting at your kitchen table?"  
"Yes."  
"Oh. Cool." He stood straight again. Liam leaned in and spoke at the same level as Connor had.  
"Fi?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Is that their plane thing parked in you're back garden?"  
Fiona looked out the window only to see a large black vehicle that seemed to be some sort of military-ish plane.  
"It would appear to be, yes." She nodded then momentarily glared back at Clint and muttered "no regard for lawn maintenance."  
Clint flashed her an apologetic look. "Sorry kid."  
The room fell silent again.  
"Fuck it," Fiona turned to face the room. "Connor, Liam, Hawkeye is my uncle and he brought all of his avenging friends over for a visit. They'll probably be here a few days so we may as well get acquainted now. Uncle Clint this is Liam and Connor, my best friends and before you start your spy inquisition no neither of them is my boyfriend. Everyone good? Yeah? Great!" She turned back around and put the chicken in the oven.  
"So, uh, I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but where is your Mom? This whole house looks like nobody lives here." Steve changed the subject effectively from the awkward introduction but the tension in the room was still prevalent.  
"Shes out." Fiona slumped into one of the remaining seats at the table, leaving the boys to finish the dinner.  
"Out where?" Clint asked, suddenly realising the absence.  
"Uh Belgium I think? She might be in Italy by now I don't know I haven't heard from her in a few days. She'll be home Monday for three or four days before she heads off again."  
Natasha, who had been quiet for a while, decided to jump into the conversation at that point.  
"She's still...?"  
"Yeah she is. She took it pretty hard when Dad died. The house looks like nobody lives here, Mr Rogers-"  
"Uh Steve."  
"-Steve, because I'm the only one here and I spend most of my time at Connor or Liam's houses. Now, if I may, you're all very interested in me and my sad little backstory, and I don't mind, I understand that until today I never existed to you, but don't you think that maybe it's time to talk about why you're all here? Somewhere out there there is a Robot smarter than all of us that wants to destroy humanity in order to save it and it's kinda your problem."  
"How did you know all that?" Steve looked like a man who'd had enough surprises for one day.  
"She hacked every major database around the world and programmed JAZZ to update constantly on any important world news. I think we made her private newsfeed, am I right?" Tony was looking at her impressed. A small smile played across his lips. Fiona gave him a small nod.  
Connor came in to tell them that dinner was ready and everyone got up to help set the table. The tension lifted once they got all of the heavy stuff out of the way and soon they were all laughing and eating.  
"You're thinking with too much passion," Liam shook his head and forked another piece of chicken. "This is a machine that thinks, sure, but it can't feel. If you want to figure out what his plan is you need to think like him and you're thinking with too much passion."  
Banner nodded. "The kid may be on to something there."  
Connor snorted. "You guys are The Avengers. I don't get how you haven't realised how simple this is."  
"Simple? Are you kidding this shit is anything but simple!" Clint argued.  
"It is though. He's just looking at history to create an algorithm to predict the future. He wants to save the human race and to him that means allow them to evolve, and so far, every time the human race has made a giant step forward, it's been after a massive disaster, so he thinks he should create the disaster. I'm not saying he's right I'm just saying I understand how he got there. He wants humans to evolve and he thinks that means killing most of them first, killing you first."  
"Shit." Natasha shook her head. "He's right. Ultron is doing what he thinks is right. He's following Tony's orders and protecting the human race, from us."  
"Are we really what Humans need protecting from?" Steve came in with the moral dilemma. "I mean this is an unbiased source that scanned through everything in all of history and decided that the think the human race needed protecting from the most, was us. I'm just trying to figure out whether or not he was right."  
Fiona almost laughed in that moment. "You're joking. You guys aren't perfect, far from it, but what Ultron isn't taking into account is what might have happened if you guys weren't around. Let's go back to the 1940's. Germany probably would have won the war without Steve and the Howling Commandos. Shield would have never been formed. Hydra would have power and would probably have destroyed the world. If not then Loki and his little band of aliens would have taken over New York because there would be no Avengers to fight them. Howard's tech empire would have ended after they lost the war and without him or Tony we would most likely be decades behind on all of our tech. Nat would still be an assassin and there would be countless other girls stuck in that life without any way out, being raised to be emotionless killing machines. Bruce would be working on some shitty project, probably for Hydra even if he didn't know it, that was a complete waste of his brains and he world would have lost its foremost expert of gamuo-radiation and, well anger management, and Jesus, I don't even want to think about the what would happen if Uncle Clint wasn't around to keep an eye on everything."  
Everyone stared. Silence.  
"The kid may be on to something there." Bruce repeated the line from earlier. Connors phone buzzed. He took it out and sighed.  
"I gotta head Mams wondering where I am." He stood up. Liam checked his watch.  
"Jesus, yeah, it's later than I thought. You mind if I stay at yours tonight?" He asked Connor as they headed towards the door.  
"Nah it's fine. Should we get the driver to wait if your not on the bus in the morning Fi or do you want us to go ahead?"  
Fiona looked around at the people sitting in her kitchen.  
"I think it's safe to say I won't be in school for the next couple of days. Uncle Clint, if you'll come in with me at some point to let Mr Kehoe know that a family emergency has come up?"  
"Yeah sure."  
"Well it was nice to meet you all. Talk to you tomorrow Fi." Liam opened the door and walked out, quickly followed by Connor. Fiona started to clear over the table and everyone got up to help.  
"So I guess I should give you all a tour of the house. There's three floors, down here we have the kitchen, obviously, the sitting room," Fiona led them through a sliding door into a large open room surrounded by windows. "Then we have the living room, the bathroom and the study."  
They all went up the stairs.  
"There's five bedrooms on this floor," she opened a door to reveal a beautiful open bedroom. There was a TV mounted on the wall beside the door, a large desk to the right of it. Along the opposite wall was a mirrored sliding wardrobe and facing the tv was a bed, two steps up and a mattress fixed into them. The room looked straight out of a five star resort.  
Fiona pointed to a door on the other side of the room.  
"Each room has an en suite and they're all pretty much the same except those two," she pointed out the door that had come in and across the landing. "That's my Mam's room and Uncle Clint's room."  
They all exited the room and Fiona led them up the final flight of stairs.  
"The top floor is my 'pad' I suppose. Since I'm usually the only one here it's just easier to only live in one part of the house." She led them onto a completely open landing. There was a bed, just like the ones below, a desk, a TV and wardrobe, all just like below but slightly more impressive, but this room also had couches, a mini fridge, a state of the art gaming system, musical instruments scattered along the walls and in the corner of the room, leaning proudly against the wall was a beautiful custom compound bow and a quiver full of arrows.  
"You guys really are related." Tony snorted.  
Fiona rolled her eyes. "If you need anything, any time you can come on up. Now you all know your way around so I'm gonna head out for a little bit. I shouldn't be longer than a half hour but you never know."  
"Wait where are you going?" Clint asked, his brows furrowed towards the centre.  
"Barcelona."  
"Woah, wait. I was guessing from the accents we were somewhere in Ireland. Are you saying we're less than half an hour away from Barcelona?" Tony had a giddy glint in his eye.  
"No but in case you've forgotten, I'm a teleporter, idiot." Fiona gave an exasperated jerk of her head before disappearing.


	2. Dreaming

Aren't you a little too young to drink? I mean I know the age is different here but you're still too young, right?" Steve asked as Fiona handed them all beers and took one for herself.  
"Nah I'm sixteen and I'm private property with the supervision of a legal guardian, thanks Uncle Clint, so it's totally legal. Outside of those circumstances it's 18." Fiona informed him. He shrugged. Clint smiled a little as he watched his friends and his niece interact. They had spent most of the day together and it was getting late now as they all sat around the living room. He had been hoping that they would all get along, that maybe then she would agree to come back to The Avengers Tower with them, not that he'd asked her yet.  
Clint noticed Fiona excuse herself from the ongoing conversation and teleport away.  
"Where do you think she's gone this time?" A voice came from behind him. He didn't need to turn to know it was Tony speaking.  
"Probably gone down to the lab to tinker with something she's inventing." He responded.  
"She's pretty awesome, you know. She'd do well as part of The Avengers Initiative." Tony remarked.  
"I'm just gonna focus on getting her to move to the tower first. It's not good for her to be on her own all the damn time."  
Tony nodded, his eyes drifting down to the floor in front of him before his head snapped back up again.  
"Wait, did you say lab?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's downstairs. Fi's not used to having people around that actually know all her secrets so she probably forgot about it on her little tour. JAZZ?"  
"Yes, Mr Barton?"  
"Could you let Fi know I'm bringing Tony and Bruce down?"  
"Of course, Mr Barton."  
"Thank you."  
"Wait where are we going?" Bruce asked, hearing his name.  
"Down to the lab. I thought you might want to come along." Clint answered. He strolled over to a picture on the wall. He slid it through one side and placed his hand on the scanner. A panel in the wall opened to reveal an elevator hidden behind.  
"Cool" Tony muttered to himself. The three men entered the elevator and headed down. When the doors opened they were suddenly met by NIRVANA on full blast. Fiona was sitting at a desk in a pair of jeans with her school shirt still on and sleeves pulled up. She didn't even look up at them as they neared her.  
"Uh sorry I forgot to show you the lab. I just had JAZZ add your scans to the database so you can come in and out as you please and tinker with anything you like. Shit!" She said absentmindedly. Bruce stood behind her and looked over her shoulder.  
"What are you working on?" His eyes scanned over everything on the table.  
"It's-uh," she slowly pulled a tiny wire inside the device. "It's a set of drones that are programmed to react only to a certain person's command that can do reconnaissance on a mission so their operator can see what's going on around a corner or in another part of a building or something without having to go in blind. They should be tiny and silent and I'm using tec a little bit like what Tony uses inside his helmet to project holographic glasses so that the person can see what's happening where the drone is as well as where they are. I am, at this moment in time, trying to get it to project a shield that can stop bullets or knives when commanded but it's not exactly as easy as I though it might be." She muttered something else under her breath. "Sorry," she said looking away from the device. "I'm babbling."  
"No, that actually sounds like it could be very useful on missions, if you could get it working." Tony commented, leaning in for a closer look.  
"Thank you," Fiona turned back to what she had been doing. "Im almost there, I just need to get the shield to do..."  
A massive blue-ish shield projected out from the small disc.  
"That." Fiona finished.  
"How do you work it?" Bruce stared in wonder at the object, smaller than a CD yet projecting a shield almost 2 and a half feet out. Fiona stepped back and flicked her left hand. The drone lifted into the air. She held her arm out and with small, swift movements, guided the drone around the lab. She clenched her fist and the shield came in and then flicked hand open for the shield to reappear.  
"You mind if we look around at your other projects real quick? If they're all as good as this I might just buy a couple of the designs off you when all this is over." Tony questioned as he moved to another desk and looked at some of the blueprints scattered on it.  
"Look around as much as you want. If you want to have a go at building anything that I haven't or fixing anything I'm working on, be my guest. JAZZ can tell you where anything is or what any of my little ideas do. I'm gonna head to bed. Night Uncle Clint," she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek then waved at the other men. "Night guys."  
"Night." They muttered in unison, both too engrossed in blueprints to pay any attention now. Clint sighed. He held his hand out to Fiona who took it and teleported them to the living room. He blinked a few times shaking his head.  
"I'll never get used to that." He coughed.  
"Yeah you will you just need to do it more." Fiona replied.  
"Ugh no thanks." She rolled her eyes and addressed the other two.  
"I'm gonna hit the head. Night."  
"Night Fi. I'll see you tomorrow." Nat replied with a warm smile. Steve had been playing with Vito. The seemed to be getting along well. He looked her in the eye. "Goodnight. And thank you for all this. You could have just sent us away when you saw us but you didn't."  
Fiona smirked. "Are you joking? Mam would have been so mad if I turned Uncle Clint away." She winked. Clint nudged her begrudgingly, but Steve sent a small smile her way, silently thanking her for her lightheartedness too. She nodded to him slightly then blinked and she was back in her own room. She climbed into bed and closed her eyes. Maybe she could get away with a little sleep every once in a while. Before long, she drifted off into the darkness.  
••  
Fiona didn't see the car coming until it was too late. A giant black SUV heading straight for them. It was on the wrong side of the road. Her father started frantically beeping the horn. There was nowhere for them to go. She could hear her father and brother screaming but her brain couldn't register what they were saying. She just squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the impact. It didn't come. She heard it but didn't feel it. Is this what dying feels like? No. She opened her eyes slowly. No! She was sitting on the side of the road. Her father and Alex still inside the car, their bodies crushed and mangled. She screamed.  
••  
Fiona jolted awake, curled up in a ball with her knees against her chest. She didn't need to look up to know where she was. The sitting room. It used to be the game room, where her and Alex had spent much of their free time. She buried her head into her knees and cried. Suddenly there was an arm around her, pulling her close to the body attached. She stiffened.  
"Shhh hey, it's ok, just cisry it out." A voice muttered soothingly to her. Tony. She didn't even think about what she was doing as she relaxed into his arms and cried into his chest. He just held her close and uttered a few calming words every now and then.  
"I get them too you know," she raised her head slightly at his words. "Ever since New York. The nightmares and the panic attacks. I get them too."  
Fiona found comfort in that. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was the fact that this rich playboy billionaire genius was just as broken as her, or maybe it was the having someone that actually understood, but she found comfort in that. In him.  
"I know you probably don't want to, but if you feel you need to talk I can listen. I'm not exactly able to judge." Tony spoke in a very quiet and reassuring tone. Fiona sniffled.  
"It's the crash. Every night, over and over again. I should have saved them. I should have died in that car or I should have saved them. I know it. Mam knows it. She can barely look at me, that's why she travels so much, so that she can get away from me. They should be here now, not me." Fiona cried into Tony's shirt as he rubber her back.  
"You told us earlier all the ways the world would turn to shit without us and I think maybe it's time you hear the same thing for yourself. There's so much you haven't done yet, but you're going to have an impact. I've only known you a day and I can already tell that. And as for saving them? Sometimes, in that split second, there's nothing you can do. Sometimes not everyone can get saved no matter how hard we try, and sometimes we need to figure out a way to live with that. How about you get back to bed? You don't need to sleep, just lying down with your eyes closed is rest enough for now."  
Fiona raised her head slightly. Her eyes were red and puffy.  
"Why were you up anyway?" She asked.  
Tony smiled sadly. "I haven't quite figured out my way to live with it yet." He told her truthfully. She nodded in understanding and teleported them up to his room. He looked a little queasy.  
"You'll get used to it." She assured him. He nodded half heartedly. "Night Tony." She hugged him.  
"Goodnight Kiddo." He responded and in the blink of an eye she was gone.


	3. The Ask And The Answer

It was still dark when Fiona woke up again. She checked her clock. 7:12. She could feel Vito curled up on the bed. Slipping out without waking him, she quickly put on some black Addidas skinny pants and a grey and mint Nike hoodie. She threw her hair up into a quick ponytail and slipped into a pair of grey Vans.

She grabbed her bow and quiver and headed outside to the back garden where she had a few targets set up.

She didn't know how long she'd been out there, hitting bullseye with each shot, when Clint appeared behind her.   
"You've gotten better." He commented.   
"I practice a lot."  
He snorted. "I don't doubt it. How do you do under pressure? You still got those pop up targets rigged in the warehouse?"  
"Yeah. I haven't been there in a while though. I've mostly been practicing my combat skills lately with Liam. He's pretty good. Not exactly your level, but he works for keeping up my skills." Fiona let another arrow fly, hitting the target in the centre of the forehead.   
"I have an idea." Clint started. Fiona was already starting to get nervous. "Why don't we see how you do with the team coming down on you."  
"You've got to be joking. No way!" Fi's jaw dropped. "I can't take the Avengers! You're The Avengers. I'd die. Like literally I'd probably panic and shoot myself by mistake!"  
"You'll do fine come on. Nobody will actually hurt you it's just training. Give it a go." Clint was planning something. She could tell.   
"Fine but you're paying for the funeral." She agreed morbidly.   
"Deal. White roses?" He smirked.   
"Piss off!"  
The pair started back towards the house to find Tony and Steve standing in the kitchen. They were discussing something but hushed the moment they say Clint and Fiona.   
"Hey guys. Uncle Clint wants you all to try kill me in a soundproof warehouse that was set up for extreme combat. If I die he pays for the funeral. You in?" Fiona smiled brightly. Steve and Tony stared.   
"What?"  
"I wanted to test her a little so I said we'd all fight her and see how she copes. Well maybe not Bruce. Code Green might not be the best idea." Clint explained. "Where are him and Nat anyway?"  
"Nat's in the shower and Bruce is in the lab." Steve told them.   
"As fun as that sounds I gotta work on getting my suit up and running so I'm out. The rest of you go ahead though. I'm sure Natasha will be down soo-" Tony's sentence was interrupted by Nat entering the room.   
"Combat training Nat, you in?" Clint asked simply.   
"Sure." She shrugged, reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl.   
"Great. Uncle Clint you need anything or..."  
"Nah let's go." He his hand out and Fiona gripped it, transporting them immediately to a large warehouse. She released his hand and went back, repeating the same thing with Steve and then Natasha.   
"Where is this place?" Steve queried as he scanned his surroundings.   
"It's just a warehouse we set up for training a while back. It's no Avengers Tower but it does the job. Here." Clint handed them some wraps for their hands. "Before we start hand to hand I wanna see how you do with those targets."  
"Ok you get the controls then."  
Clint walked over to the other side of the room and Fiona raised her bow, readying herself. All of a sudden there were targets flying out of the walls and ceiling, jumping out and then disappearing again. Fiona was sending arrows out in every direction. They stopped. Clint pressed a button and all the targets popped out. He smiled.   
"Nice going kid. You made every shot and hit no civilians. You're gonna be better than me soon enough." He nudged her shoulder.   
Without any warning he was swinging for her. She blocked and countered. Shit she wasn't expecting that. He was good. Better than Liam by a mile. She really was out of practice. Then there were three of them, all going for her. She immediately switched to defensive mode, ducking and jumping, every now and then sending out a blow that would knock them back a bit. Once she had enough room again she could fight back a little more. She kept fighting them as much as she could but it eventually became too much trying to hold of the three of them.   
She dropped, panting.   
"Fuck me." She gasped. She looked up to see all three of them gasping for air and staring at her. "What?"  
"You held out against two assassins and a super soldier for 21 minutes. I've taken down two dozen fully trained soldiers by myself in less time than that," Steve sat down on the ground beside her. "And it wasn't even as tiring as that."  
Nat and Clint were quick to agree.   
"I wasn't actually expecting you to be able for us all but well done." Clint nodded. "Now I need a shower though."  
The foursome headed back to the house, stopping in Paris for some breakfast along the way. They managed to get Tony and Bruce out of the lab for some food and then Fiona went to shower and change before heading down to the lab. She put on a pair of black jeans and a grey knit jumper that was very big and comfy.

The team were all upstairs in the living room while Fiona was in the lab, taking advantage of the time without her.   
"I think we should let Fury meet her. She can hold her own and she's more than ready for real life combat." Steve said, leaning forward in his seat.   
"She's still a kid. Let her have that." Nat argued. "Not all of us got to have a childhood we should let her keep that."  
Bruce nodded. "I agree with that but we do need to keep her close, no matter what we decide. She's too skilled. If she were to start working for the bad guys - I know she wouldn't now but you never know what might happen in the future - then I think it's likely we'd all be pretty screwed."  
"Maybe we should just try and convince her to move to the tower first and see how that goes. I don't like her being here alone all the time. Then we can let her adjust to the Avengers Initiative without throwing her in head first." Clint suggested.   
Tony shook his head. "Why don't we just ask her?"  
Everyone looked at him.  
"I get the feeling she doesn't want to be here alone any more than you want her to. I mean sure she's got her friends, but she hasn't got any family around. I think most of us know what that's like. Ask her. Maybe she'll say yes."  
It was an idea not one of them had thought of, and yet it was the most straightforward thing to do.   
"Are we all in agreement?" Clint asked. They all nodded. "I guess I'll go see if she's up for meeting Fury then." He got up and headed down to the lab. It was Blink-182 playing today. All The Small Things. Vito was asleep at her feet. He glanced up at Clint's arrival, but ultimately deemed t uninteresting.   
"Hey Fi, can we talk?" Clint requested, pulling her out of her work. She spun in her chair.   
"Course, what's up?" She looked worried. He never came in so serious. "J.A.Z.Z. cut the music."  
The music stopped. Silence.   
"I don't like you being in this house alone all the time," he started. She rolled her eyes. "No, hear me out. I'm not going to lecture you or anything. I'm going to present you with an alternative. How would you feel about moving to the tower?"  
Fiona snorted. "What? I can't do that."  
"Why not?" Clint had known that would be her initial reaction, now it was just a matter of normalising the idea, making it seem less scary.   
"It's crazy! I don't belong there. I can't leave my friends. Nobody would want me there. It's your world, not mine. And anyway, Dad wanted me to have a normal childhood." She searched for reasons not to agree.   
"Its not crazy. We talked about it. Everyone wants you to come. Some of them even want you to join The Avengers, but nobody going to force anything on you. Your father wanted you to have abnormal childhood, but I think normal was buried with him and Alex. You have been training your entire life, did you really think that was for nothing?" Clint pulled a stool out and sat down across from her, leaning in with his elbows on his knees. "Tony said he would give you full access to the whole building, that would include the labs and you could build anything you want, help Tony build things for the team, work with Bruce on his experiments. You could train with the team and study anything new that you want to. Vito could come with you if you take care of him, he could always play with Pizza Dog. You'd get your own apartment and you're a teleporter, so you could come see your friends whenever you want. So what do you say?"  
"Okay."  
"Seriously?" Clint was surprised it had been so easy. Tony had been right, she didn't want to be alone either.   
"Do you want me to change my mind?"   
"No"   
"Then don't question the decision. Doesn't something like that need to be approved by your boss first though? The eyepatch dude that I saw while I was hacking stuff?"  
"He's on his way to pick us up anyway. And maybe don't mention the hacking when he gets here. He's already going to be a little weary of you." Clint stood up and walked towards the elevator.   
Fiona followed. "You already told him about me? Before I said yes?"  
"He wanted to know why we were at some teenage girls house who's surname just happened to be Barton and why Tony was converting a floor of the tower into another apartment."  
"How did he not find me before now?" Fiona wondered, realising now the connection wasn't all that subtle.   
"I have no idea." Clint slung an arm around her. "But I'm glad he didn't. You would have turned out a whole different person, and I'd miss this version."  
"Actually you couldn't miss this version because you'd never have-"   
"Yeah yeah I get it. You could have just left it be. I was trying to say something nice."  
"Oh. Well in that case I'm touched."  
"Too late now."  
"So Tony was already building an apartment for me?"  
"He called his people the moment he found out who you were. Figured you might want to come stay or something."  
"Well that was thoughtful."  
"Yeah totally out of character for him."  
Fiona laughed. "I wouldn't be to sure about that."


	4. Fury's decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I've been really busy lately. This one isn't as long as the others but the next part of the story should be a little more interesting so bare with me.

"So she's Barton's niece, she's a genius, she's trained in music, combat, archery and, how did you phrase it? People skills? And she's also an Enhanced. And you managed to stay off S.H.I.E.L.D.s radar how exactly?" Fury was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out everything he had missed in the past two days.

"Uh well, it wasn't all that hard, I just kinda kept things as normal as possible. Never showed anyone else the lab. Kept my scores in school fairly average, a mix of As and Bs and sometimes a few Cs for good measure, made it seem like all my training was just hobbies and that I never used my powers in front of anyone." Fiona explained nervously.

"Powers? What exactly are your powers?" Fury leaned in.

"Well I can teleport anywhere if I have a clear picture of it in my mind or if I have a photograph or whatever. If I don't there's always the risk that I might end up in the middle of a wall or something and that's not good. I can also teleport other objects if I can touch them." She reached out and picked up a book from the table. It vanished from her hand and appeared on the counter behind her. "And I can teleport people like that or with me but only one at a time for the minute. I'm working on building that one up though. I can't teleport a whole house or anything but I could teleport a car that I'm in or a bike."

Fury looked impressed. "And you want her to move into the tower?" He turned toward the other Avengers in the room.

"Yes sir, I'm her legal guardian and I'd like to have her close. Also I think it would be a good place for her to nurture her skill and all that. If you'll approve it that is." Clint was sitting beside Fiona and Nat. He was wearing jeans and a navy tee.

"You idiots really think I'm just gonna leave her out here with no supervision. She's moving into the tower as soon as all this Ultron shit is cleared up." Fury stood up and started towards the door. "Well? You gonna clean up your little mess or not?"

They all stood up and hugged Fiona goodbye before they went on their way to save the world. Fiona sighed, not knowing what she was getting herself into. She went down to the lab and started packing up her projects and everything she would need to bring with her. Then she went upstairs and started doing the same thing in her room. This was definitely going to be interesting.


	5. Spandex and Suits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm messing with the timeline a bit in this chapter purely for my own satisfaction. I wanted to bring Peter into it sooner rather than go through two movies worth of stuff just to get him in.

The Tower was massive. 93 stories high, Fiona's floor being the 91st below only Tony and Clint. Her apartment was beautiful. It opened into a long, wide, open plan space that included a comfortable looking grey corner couch facing a white wall, along the bottom of which there was some sort of electric fire system. A projector mounted above the couch replaced a tv and gave for a much more realistic home theatre experience. Further into the room stood the kitchen. To the left there was an entrance to the bathroom, the study and the spare room and to the right her bedroom. This was the biggest room of the apartment. The black, white and grey colour scheme matched that of the rest of apartment and the glass wall that curved around the room showing a beautiful view of the city had a voice activated curtain system.   
Fiona knew from the moment she stepped inside that she was going to like living in the Tower. She had her own space, the facilities were amazing and there was always someone close by.   
It had been almost two weeks since Sokovia and there were now three new members of the team. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff aka Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver and Vision. They were very friendly and it was nice to have other Enhanced there that were close to her age and were also trying to settle in, though she imagined the change was slightly more drastic for them. She had become easy friends with Wanda and Pietro was very flirty but there seemed to be something underlying that made Fiona wonder about him. Vision was a little harder to get used to but she was beginning to adjust.   
She sighed and dropped the book she was reading, unable to focus on it.   
"Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y. what's Uncle Clint up to?" She asked, tilting her head back in boredom.   
"Mr. Barton is currently asleep. Would you like me to wake him up or leave a message?"  
"Nah don't bother. What about the others? Steve, Bruce, Nat, the Twins?"  
"Mr Rogers has gone for a late night jog, Mr Banner is about to eat his first meal in 35 hours, Ms Romanov has just left on a 48 hour mission and Mr and Ms Maximoff are currently training in the gym."  
"Tony?" She paused. "Vision?" She asked the later almost reluctantly, desperate for someone to keep her company.   
"Mr Stark is in the laboratory on the 82nd floor and -"  
"Perfect thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y. I'll just go hang with him."  
"Would you like me to tell him that you are on the way down?"  
"Nah it's fine don't bother."  
"Of course Ma'am."  
Fiona jumped up and grabbed a Stark Industries hoodie, one of the many bits of merchandise that had been waiting in her room. The clothes were all her size and there had been a new Starkphone and Starkpad. She threw it on over the sports bra she had been lounging in and zipped it up half way. In the blink of an eye she was standing outside the door of the lab, nine stories below where she had previously been standing. Tony's voice drifted through the lab but she couldn't see him. Was he talking to someone? She shrugged and went in. She spotted him over at the other end and started towards him.   
"Tony I'm bored and everyone is busy. Wanna entertain me?" She spoke as she neared him.   
He turned around facing her and she spotted a dude in red spandex behind him.   
"Unless you're busy too that is," She glanced between him and Spandex guy and smirked. "Kinky."  
Tony grabbed a wrench and flung it in her direction. It vanished from the air into her hand and then appeared back on the worktop it had been removed from.   
"I'll be done with this in a few minutes but if you're bored there's a few projects I haven't seen able to crack over on the desk. You can give them a go if you want." He sighed motioning to a large worktop covered in half finished gadgets behind him. "Oh and I meant to tell you I passed on your shield tech to the others and Steve wants to make it standard issue for all our missions. Nat even took them wherever she's gone today. Well done kiddo, you're in the tech business."   
Tony had a proud look plastered across his face.   
"Nice. I was actually planning on modifying them a little and using a field so that you could shoot through it from your side but it still protects from the outside. I'll let you know when the prototype is ready I haven't started yet."  
"Yep I'll be over in a few ok?"   
Fiona nodded. "Nice to kinda meet you Spandex."   
"It's uh-i-its Spider-Man." He stuttered awkwardly.   
She sent him a warm smile. "Fiona. See you around." She teleported over to Tony's personal workspace and started looking through his unfinished work. Spider-Man turned back to Tony and spoke in a hushed tone.   
"She can teleport? That is soo cool. Who is she? Is she a new Avenger?Where is that accent from anyway? Can -" He started firing off questions. Tony cut him off.   
"She can, it is, she told you, maybe, Ireland and whatever the next question is - no. Now as I was saying the suit is different to the last one so take some time to get used to it. Go be the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man or whatever."  
The young hero nodded and took off out an open window calling "thank you Mr Stark" as he went. Tony watched him for a moment before heading over to Fiona. He sat down beside her as she worked intently, making breakthroughs on projects he had been unable to crack. He grabbed his tools and started working alongside her.   
"F.R.I.D.A.Y. turn on some tunes." He order the AI who obliged immediately.   
"Actually I've been meaning to talk to you about that. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is really doing my head in. That accent is awful Tony where the hell did you get that?" She looked up at him.   
"I thought it would make you feel more at home since I had to input a new one anyway." Tony shrugged.   
"Ah well it doesn't, it actually creeps me out a little. I do know what would help though." She was building up to something and Tony knew what it was.   
"Oh? And what's that?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.   
"J.A.Z.Z. is still a very viable option. He's just as snarky as if you'd built him yourself and he has all of your security already. I'd let you update him on anything like that anyway and he would do everything JARVIS did and more. Please?" She was campaigning hard and Tony knew how much she wanted it. He had wanted to have J.A.Z.Z. there too but he didn't want to ask for some reason he couldn't quite figure out himself. Something to do with pride.   
"Fine if it means that much to you." He agreed, not letting her see how happy he was.   
She pulled a thumb drive from her pocket and plugged it in. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. if you would please inform anyone who uses your services that you will be offline for the next few hours."  
"Of Course Ms Barton. And may I say it has been a pleasure."  
"It most definitely has F.R.I.D.A.Y."  
Tony and Fiona got to work installing and updating the AI through the night until finally sun started to stream in through the still open window. There was a small noise and then a familiar voice.   
"Good morning Boss, Mr Stark."  
"Hey there J.A.Z.Z., how ya doin?" Fiona replied with a smile. She had missed her friend.   
"Very good. Thank you very much for installing me here. I was getting rather sick of having no interactions other that those two idiots that hang around your house."  
"Don't lie to me J.A.Z.Z. you know you love them." She grinned.   
"Love is a very strong word."  
"It's good to have you back."  
"Good to be back Boss."  
"Why don't you go tell everyone you're here and up and running."  
"Yes Boss. I'm also very happy to inform you that everything seems to be running perfectly. If you would like a full status report I can have one printed out for you."  
"That won't be necessary." Tony interjected. He was surprisingly relieved to have a male AI again. Something about the female one made him very uncomfortable in his apartment.   
"Captain Rogers would like me to inform you that breakfast is ready and you are both required to be there."  
"Ok tell him we're on the way up."  
Tony turned to his young friend. "Beam me up Scotty."

\-----------------------------------

"So we got a surprise for you." Steve announced, standing up to clear over the last of the dishes from breakfast.   
"Oh? That's...going to make me very uncomfortable." Fiona replied with an awkward laugh.   
"What? Why? You don't even know what it is." Tony was now standing up too and Fiona was beginning to get curious.   
"I'm Irish. We're not good at accepting things. Compliments, gifts, we just never know what to say. It's a trademark of our culture." She explained. "So let's get this surprise over with."  
"Well ok. Tony do you want to get it?" Steve arrived back at the table. Tony stood up and crossed the room to a door. He opened it and pulled out something on wheels that was covered in a big sheet.   
"You ready?" Clint asked, jumping out of his seat and heading over to stand beside Tony. All the others stood up and went over as well apart from Wanda and Pietro who stayed seated on either side of her with big grins.   
"Sure. Hit me with it."  
Tony yanked the sheet off to reveal a combat outfit designed just for her. The pants were tight and black with knives in sheathes fixed onto the belt. The top was a cerulean blue hooded jacket, also tight fitting, with a subtle zip up the front for ease. On the right sleeve was the Avengers symbol, proud and clear, and on the left was the symbol of the Howling Commandos. Draped across it was a black strap attached to a quiver full of arrows that Fiona was willing to bet were all modified in some way. She let the air filter out of her lungs, not realising she had been holding it in. It was perfect. She had no words. She stood up and stepped towards it. Her fingers immediately went to the familiar symbol on the left sleeve. She glanced at Steve, eyes full of surprise.   
"Clint mentioned that your Great Uncle on your Mom's side was Bucky Barnes and that you and your Mom are his only living relatives. I though you might like it and it seemed like a good tribute to him. He was a good friend and a good soldier. It seems like Heroism runs in your blood," he paused and glanced at Clint. "On both sides."  
Fiona's eyes started to well up. She hugged Steve and whispered her thanks, then she turned and thanked everyone else. Clint pulled her into a side hug.   
"Kiddo, we are formally inviting you to become an official member of the Avengers. Whatta ya say?" He looked down at her.   
"Fuck yeah lets do it!" She exclaimed, suddenly full of excitement.


	6. Whelming

The common room couch, Fiona had come to discover, was possibly the most comfortable couch in the world. She had stumbled upon this information about half way through The Godfather II - they had been trying to catch Steve up on all he had missed, leading to weekly movie nights - when she had adjusted herself into a more...horizontal position. It wasn't until her eyes slowly opened about two hours later that she realised she had fallen asleep with her head on Pietro's lap. Pietro had seemingly also drifted off as had Tony and Bruce, who were out cold in the armchairs at either side of the couch she was lounging on. The rest of the team had disappeared, presumably gone to bed, leaving just the four behind. She was about to snuggle in further and gon back to sleep when she froze. She had her head in Pietro's lap. Pietro. That absolute god of a man. It was going to be so awkward when he woke up. He'd probably think she was weird or into him or something. She paused her train of thought, not liking where it was heading. He was incredibly comfortable. She could even feel his muscles...she stopped her train of thought again. She couldn't think like that. He was her teammate and it was totally inappropriate, and he was two years older than her. Plus he was Pietro Maximoff, he was basically perfect in every way. There was no way he'd be into her. She sighed and eased his arm off her shoulder, then teleported to bed. 

\-----------------------------------

The moment the weight disappeared from his legs Pietro was awake. She was gone. He let out a disappointed breath. He had been so comfortable and she was so warm. It didn't hurt that she also looked so beautiful asleep there. He had fallen asleep gently stroking her soft hair. Wow, he was even starting to sound creepy to himself, but he couldn't help himself. He had liked her immediately, the first time he met her. Her sense of humour, her strength, her intelligence, her smile. He knew she found being around people hard sometimes, but he had wanted to be someone she could always feel comfortable with. He hadn't meant to start flirting with her so blatantly but she just didn't seem to be picking up the signals until he was practically holding up a sign and by then she seemed to think he was just messing around. He let out another defeated sound and then got up and started to his room, careful not to wake the others. 

\-----------------------------------

"Okay hear me out on this," Fiona exclaimed as she entered the lab. "Oh, hey again Spandex. Didn't know you were here."  
The red figure raised his masked gaze to her as she spoke. "H-hey." Was all he could squeeze out in response.  
"So anyway," she continued. "Why is it that we can be overwhelmed by something or underwhelmed by something but we're never whelmed. It doesn't make logical sense and it's annoying me."  
"It's the English language, its nonsensical. What do you expect?" Tony muttered absentmindedly.  
"Maybe it's a statement on society's inability to be satisfied with what we have. It's always too much or too little. I wonder what the psychology is there..." she trailed off deep in thought.  
"You may have a point but you're in the wrong place." Was the mumbled response that came from Tony.  
"You're right. I'm talking to the wrong lab rat."  
Tony's head snapped up and he glared at her. "Did you just compare me to a rodent? I resent that."  
"I think it's an accurate comparison..." Fiona uttered under her breath. "Bye Tony, Spandex." She said with a nod before skipping into the elevator. "JAZZ, take me to Bruce."  
"Right away Boss."  
The masked boy watched as the elevator doors shut. "It wasn't a inaccurate comparison..." he spoke quietly.  
"Shut up kid." Tony growled. 

\-----------------------------------

The elevator doors opened and Steve stepped in.  
"Hey Fi, what's up?" He greeted.  
"I'm trying to figure out why people are never whelmed. We are overwhelmed, or underwhelmed, but never whelmed. I'm on my way to Bruce to get his opinion." Fiona told him thoughtfully.  
"Wow. You must be really bored around here."  
"Pffft nah it's great craic."  
Steve made a face at her.  
"Okay it's a bit boring, I'm not used to not having my time completely full. At home I used to get up early to train, go to school, come home and either spend time learning a new skill or train some more, unless I had exams and then I'd go to Harvard or MIT or Yale or Trinity to sit them before dinner. I don't know what to do with myself all day here." She explained.  
"Exams? Aren't those colleges? I thought you were sticking with high school to keep under the radar?"  
"Well yeah, Fiona Barton still hasn't technically finished her second level education, but Jessica Byrne has a Masters in Cultural Studies, Aisling Lynch has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Erica Dunphy has a PhD in Experimental Physics, Aoife Kehoe has a PhD in Psychology and Karen Walsh has a Degree in Sociology. It's all about the aliases. And I can study at home I don't need to go to classes so it's low stress."  
"You're a Doctor? I thought when Tony asked when we first met you you said you hadn't gone on to do any of that."  
"Yeah well it's not the most legally sound thing to do so I don't exactly advertise it and I wasn't sure if I was going to be hanging around you guys so I held back just in case. It also makes people look at me differently and I don't like that."  
"Wow...I never thought of that."  
"Yeah. You, Clint, Connor and Liam are now the only four people in the world that know that so start calling me Dr Barton and I will slap you, keep that in mind."  
The doors dinged and opened to Steve's apartment.  
"I have an idea. You need something to occupy you're time, I need to get a little more used to the modern world, let's go on a city adventure." Steve suggested enthusiastically. "You can show me all the now things and I can show you my old spots and what the city was like 70 years ago, whatta ya say?"  
"Sure lets do it!"


	7. Daytrip Surprise

"Statistics show that these things are death traps." Fiona stated matter of factly as she gazed uneasily at the object in front of her and the man on it. 

"You're a superhero that has spent her entire life training to deal with high risk life and death situations, but you're too scared to get on a motorcycle?" Steve looked at her incredulously. 

"It's a rational fear!" She def ended. 

"Best way to overcome is to face it head on. Get on kid. I promise you won't get hurt."

She let out a long, defeated sigh and climbed on behind him, hugging his waist at tight as she could and squeezing her eyes shut. Steve just chuckled to himself and started the bike up. 

 

Times Square stood tall around them. There were people everywhere and the whole place was buzzing with atmosphere. 

"This is the first place I saw when I woke up. Hell of a shock to the system." Steve commented as they walked through the crowds. 

"Really? They didn't think that through. They could have put you in the countryside where you wouldn't have noticed the difference if you ran outside." Fiona said as she spotted something across the way. She grabbed Steve's hand and dragged him behind her. "Come'ere."

Steve was about to ask where she was taking him when he saw a guy dressed as Captain America posing for pictures with tourists. He made a face at her and she flashed him a toothy grin. 

"Excuse me, could you get in a picture with my cousin? He's a big fan." She asked politely. 

"Of course miss. You wanna get in here too?"

"No I'll just take the picture. Steven, you'd better take off your cap and glasses for a really good picture." She still wasn't sure how a cap and glasses was all it took for people not to notice him, but it worked. 

"If you think that's a good idea." He responded with a small smile. He knew exactly what she was doing. 

"Holy shit! You're-you're him! Omigod!" The man was starting to freak. 

"I just wanted to thank you for being a vital asset to our team, sir. Presenting the Avengers in a good light to the public is a very important job." Steve said, shaking his hand and posing for a picture. 

The pair had to run though, ducking through the crowds as more people started to notice. They stopped by some burger joint for food. 

"So do you practice those lines or are they an on-the-spot thing?" Fiona teased as they slid into a booth. 

"I have a few generic ones and a few that are quick thinking. Everyone expects something from Captain America, it's best to just give it to them." Fiona was surprised that Steve could say something like that without any disdain or hostility. He seemed to genuinely enjoy interacting with people as the hero they saw. 

"Hey there what can I..." the waitress's eyes fell upon Steve, who had yet to even glance at the menu to see what they were offering in this place. "W-what can I g-get you?" She asked, giggling girlishly at Steve. He looked to Fiona for help. 

"We'll get a plate of nachos, two quarter-pounders, two extra portions of fries, some chicken wings and four vanilla milkshakes." She ordered, the waitress nodded along and wrote down everything she said. 

"That everything?" 

"Yeah I think so. Unless you have anything to add?"

Steve shook his head. "Nope I think that covers it. Thanks."

"No problem, I'll be back with your food shortly. Let me know if you need anything else." She left with a lingering glance at Steve. 

"There's one more place I want to bring you after this." He informed her, fiddling with his thumbs on the table between them. 

"Where is it?"

"You'll see, but I think there's something that's important for you to know so-" he was interrupted by the food arriving at the table. They both nodded their thanks to the two waitresses. Fiona took one of the burgers with fries in the side and a vanilla milkshake and slid the rest of the food over to Steve. He looked at her with question in his eyes. 

"You need Super-soldier sized portions. I've noticed your eating habits, I've been living with you for weeks now."

He smiled and laughed to himself a bit. 

"You know, pre-serum, I wouldn't have been able to finish a burger and shake by myself. Buck used to always eat all my fries 'cause I couldn't finish 'em." He reminisced. 

"Nan never talked much about him, we kinda knew not to ask. Grandad said it hit her hard when he died, said we shouldn't bring it up or she might get sad again."

"Well if you ever want to know anything, I'll tell you what I can. We were attached at the hip growing up."

"Yeah, Nan mentioned you a few times, more than Bucky anyway. I think she really saw you as family."

"What happened to her. Is she...?"

"No she died about two years ago. Grief I suppose. Grandad died not long after the crash and losing her husband, son in law and grandson all at once was just too much."

"I'm sorry. She wasn't much older than you the last time I saw her."

"Thanks...That conversation got depressing really quickly." Fiona tried to lighten the air between them a little but Steve still looked like he had something on his mind. They finished their food in silence, not quite awkward, but not comfortable either. She could tell he was feeling uneasy about something and it was beginning to rub off on her. 

 

"What are we doing here?"

The pair stood in front of the Howling Commandos exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. Fiona hadn't been there before but she'd heard about it. She noticed a picture of Bucky and Steve in their uniforms, smiling with their arms around each other. They looked like brothers. Inseparable. She couldn't help but notice the similarities between her uniform and her grand uncle's. The colours were almost identical, and the designs on each sleeve representing their values. 

"There's something you should know." 

"Saying things like that make people very uncomfortable." Fiona wasn't lying, there was a knot in her stomach and the longer he stayed silent the tighter it was pulled. 

Steve paused for another moment before starting his explanation. 

"Do you remember when SHIELD collapsed? Nat put all the files online to out HYDRA to the world?"

"Yeah, of course. I was able to comb through the files as much as I wanted, which was kinda boring because the fun part of getting those files was always breaking down the firewalls."

"Uh yeah, well, during that whole thing there was this assassin working for HYRDA. The Winter Soldier. You heard of him."

"The Ghost? Where are you going with this?"

"Well, huh, sorry I'm not really sure how to explain what I'm trying to get across. When all that was going on, The Winter Soldier had been ordered by HYDRA to kill me in order to prevent me from messing up their plans. That was the first time I saw him, and I haven't seen him since." Steve had a sad and almost pained expression on his face. 

"I still don't understand your point."

"When we were fighting I tore off his mask. I saw his face. Fiona, The Winter Soldier is Bucky. He's alive. I'm not sure how exactly, he must have survived the fall due to some of the experiments Zola did to him during the time he was captured, and then he must have been found HYDRA. He's not the same as e was then. He's got a metal arm now, and it's like his memory has been wiped and he can't quite remember who he really is. After I fought him on the helicarriers though, he saved my life and went completely off the grid." He sped through it, not giving her a chance to ask questions until the end. 

There was a moment of silence that felt like a year. 

"Okay." Fiona stated simply. 

"You're okay with all of this?"

"No not really, I'll need some time to process that, but I do believe you if that's what you're worried about."

"You do?"

"Yeah I mean why not. I'm a 16 year old genius that can teleport, you're a 98 year old super soldier, Bruce turns into a giant green anger-monster, Thor is a literal Norse God. Anything is possible these days."

"Right, yeah, I mean, you're right, but I'm still surprised."

There was another long pause. 

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to find him. He needs our help."

"I know."


End file.
